


Happy Birthday

by weakzen



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Bittersweet, Drabble, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-14 23:24:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16050716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weakzen/pseuds/weakzen
Summary: Eight companions celebrate their eighth birthday.





	Happy Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Pillars Prompts Weekly #06, birthday celebrations

The salt water burns the scrapes on your knuckles and face, but that does not stop you from walking deeper into the waves. You let the sea wash over you, again and again, pushing and pulling you back and forth, until you forget about the man on the beach and the boys in the dormitory.

It finally spits you out, some time later, and you crouch in its receding tide to make a cake from the wet sand. You decorate it with shells. _Happy birthday to me_ , you think, before you stomp on your creation and grind it between your toes.

When you leave, the man is still there, watching. Annoyance flares in your chest as you pass him, even though you reluctantly admit his presence allowed you some peace today. He says nothing to you, not until the next day, when he finally introduces himself.

His name is Giacolo.

\---

In the darkness of morning, Mother sneaks into your room and crouches by your bed. She whispers words of celebration in your ear and bids you rise and dress, for she has a surprise planned. With a grin on your face, you do, and soon the two of you are sneaking away into the city.

She takes you to the royal gardens first, and you hold her hand as you both marvel at orchids. She takes you to the zoo next, and you feed the gazelles with her encouragement. She takes you to a tea house last, and you both enjoy sandwiches and scones.

As she sips her tea, you catch a glimpse of bruise beneath her sleeve. It matches your own.

You thumb through your new book and read some passages aloud to her. She smiles, and it feels like the most precious gift she's given you all day.

\---

You've been bouncing on the balls of your feet all week, but that anticipation is nothing compared to the excitement that floods your body when you see her for the first time. As you pick her up, your chest aches with something beautiful and overwhelming that you can't yet name.

She's so small and warm and soft in your arms. Softer than the caribou hide you wear. You bury your face in her fur and inhale her scent deeply. When you pull away, your cheeks are wet with tears. She whimpers and licks at them, but that only makes you smile and cry even harder.

In two more years, when you've both grown a bit more, you and her will finally join the hunters on their long treks. For today, though, you're both content to explore the tundra together, and snuggle into each other later, while the aurora dances above.

\---

Numbness prickles your legs, but you're not allowed to move. Your face hurts from smiling and the gratitude chaps your lips. In your heart, you don't feel thankful, not for any of this.

All you truly want to do is jump up and run to the beach. You can hear them playing in the water. If you turn your head, you could probably see them too. But, you know if you try even that, you will feel your Ranga's hand slam down on your shoulder and clench. So, you continue smiling while the endless stream of visitors kneel before you to honor Ngati and your tribe with their offerings.

When the sun hangs low in the sky, and the pile of gifts stands taller than you, you're allowed to leave. You rush to the beach, but the other children are gone.

Only your mother remains, gently lapping at their footsteps.

\---

With a tiny crack, you snap the rabbit's neck, then flash a grin back to your ma. They were all full today, your snares. Every single one.

By the time you both get home, your shoulders and arms ache from carrying the bounty. You roll up your sleeves to butcher, but your ma tells you to head 'cross town instead. Take five rabbits to Miss Headly. You do, and she trades you for a large lemon tart. Your eyes widen. And you drool the entire way home.

Ma and pa are in the kitchen whispering, when you return. They quiet immediately, but you think you caught a name. Later, before bed, with your belly warm from roasted rabbit and your lips sticky with lemon, you meet your ma's eye and ask her who Waidwen is.

She stiffens.

Then she kisses your forehead and tells you not to worry 'bout it.

\---

Control comes a bit easier, each attempt. In the meantime, you learn more things about him.

He hasn't shat in a week. He's afraid of snakes. He has a daughter your age.

In the darkness, while snores echo around you, she comes to your thoughts sometimes. You wonder if she can smell the tang of blood on him, when she hugs him. Or if she can see the emptiness in his eyes, when she smiles at him. Or if she suspects at all that he's already got a price on her head.

It's no higher than it would be for any other lass her age and station.

In the morning, on your birthday, when the rotten fuck nears your cage with his guards and his dogs, you finally whisper the words you've been practicing through the bars.

The beasts tear out his throat 'fore he even can draw his weapon.

\---

Your little brother behaves the same way he did the morning of his own birthday: jumping, singing, zipping around, startling everyone in his path.

He can have your party today, as far as you're concerned. You'd rather spend your birthday outside, exploring these strange, new woods. Not cooped up inside.

Not with _those_ people.

When they arrive, you wear your best smile, just as your mother pleaded. He greets you with a clammy handshake, and you fight a shudder. As your parents escort him away, you wipe your palm on your dress.

At lunch, you pick at your food. A knot of sick twists in your stomach, waiting for it. Your parents' smiles tighten, when he finally gets on his knees. But they say nothing. This time, though, as he peers under the table to check for your tail, you kick him straight in the face.

On accident, of course.

\---

The first thing you do in the morning is remind him you've kept your promise. He smiles at you from the other bed, but doesn't say anything.

You remind him again, when you're tossing feed for the chickens. He tells you the cows need milking first. Under the breakfast table, you kick his shin, but he only asks you to pass the butter. By noon, you're pleading with him to show you the surprise. He wonders aloud if he could harness the power of your whining to pick crops.

After dinner, you finish the dishes in silence, scowling. And when he sneaks off again, you break your promise and follow him into the woods. Eventually, he stops near the pond, then points up to the big oak. To the tree-house now perching in its branches. Your mouth falls open.

“Happy birthday,” your brother says, smiling as he turns to you.


End file.
